Trading and Prestige
Does the brand name or the prestige of the firm matter as much if you are a junior trader as opposed to an IBD analyst?
I figure your specific group's performance and your PnL would matter a lot more than the prestige of your bank's name. Am I correct or no?
Specifically, I'm talking about a job in currency trading.
Thanks!
-LOR
I will try my best to be objective (given my firm). But the short answer is no. It doesn't matter really for currency traders. You can be hired to Deutsche Bank's FX desk and if you are unable to stand-out, the kid who's an all-star at RBC Capital's FX desk will probably have his name passed around in the FX circles moreso than the "prestige-kid" at DB.
So no, prestige isn't as big a deal in FX Trading. It helps because your desk gets tons of flow. But if YOU and your group perform, that means a whole lot more
Do people on desks know who all their counterparts are on the same desk at a different bank? How often do traders talk about other traders on different desks?
... it also depends on where you stand. An all-star anywhere will stand out, but if you're middle-of-the pack than the name may make more of a difference
That was my point, at DB, we know who at UBS is the FX king, same with Barclays, etc. So if they have a kid who's doing very well, we'll know about it. But if he's hiding in the shadows, he'll go unnoticed for the most part. But yes, for example, (even without this publication) we knew about Jeff Lo at Citi. Excellent traders always acquire name recognition on the street regardless of their firm. And this kid is young!
http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/4/6/2009/id/22018
[quote=FXTrader]That was my point, at DB, we know who at UBS is the FX king, same with Barclays, etc. So if they have a kid who's doing very well, we'll know about it. But if he's hiding in the shadows, he'll go unnoticed for the most part. But yes, for example, (even without this publication) we knew about Jeff Lo at Citi. Excellent traders always acquire name recognition on the street regardless of their firm. And this kid is young!
http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/4/6/2009/id/22018[/…]
How do these traders' names leak out to other banks? Do BB traders hang out in the same circles and talk about the superstars at various desks?
The street is a small place, 10 banks have 80% of this market worldwide. Of the US market, a smaller group have in excess of 90% share.
So yeah, given the relatively small number of traders who manage this 3 trillion daily market, word gets around.
But i wouldn't go as far as saying that BB traders "hang out" with other traders on the street. I mean, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady don't go drinking together right? I'm being facetious but you get the idea.
Please take my perspective with a grain of salt, as I have never worked on a trading floor.
The big difference with the prestige factor in banking vs sales & trading, is that a bank can use its reputation to bring in the biggest deals. Working on front page transactions gets you noticed by headhunters/buy side firms; you then end up with great exit opportunities.
Trading, on the other hand, is different. I wouldn't go work for desk X at GS if I knew that the best traders for the product were at Barcap. I'd want to position myself in a group with the most successful traders in their respective product so that I can 1) learn from them and 2) reap the rewards (bonus $$) from their production. At the end of the day, trading is a lot more dependent on your desk's and your own performance than the firm's.
So no, I don't think firm prestige/brand matter all that much.
Uhmmm if you do not know others at the other banks, what do you do if a trade blows up? A broker messes up? Everyone has a general idea of their competition it would silly not to be.
You also meet people from other banks at broker events. Fun times!!
Ugh. Finance networking events sound atrocious.
Free booze and good food (and sporting events, etc) it's not always that bad.
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